The Best Plants for Lush, Low-Maintenance Ground Coverage

Creating a beautiful landscape requires thoughtful planning and design. While ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowering perennials add visual interest, a carpet of green really brings everything together. Grass is an obvious choice, but it requires regular mowing and ample irrigation. For low-maintenance alternatives, consider using ground cover plants.

Ground covers are low-growing plants that spread out to form a dense mat, preventing weeds while eliminating the need to mow. They grow close to the ground, usually reaching a maximum height of around 1 foot Ground covers come in a diverse array of flowering and evergreen varieties suitable for sun or shade Once established, most species require little care beyond occasional watering during dry periods.

Let’s explore some of the best options for achieving lush, carefree ground coverage in your garden.

Evergreen Ground Covers Offer Year-Round Interest

Evergreen ground covers maintain their foliage through the winter, providing color and texture when most other plants are dormant. This makes them useful additions to rock gardens, slopes, and other hard-to-maintain areas. Evergreen ground covers include both spreading perennials and low-growing shrubs. Popular choices like ivy, euonymous, and pachysandra form dense mats that choke out weeds. Though aggressive spreaders, their growth is easy to control by simply removing errant stems.

Other evergreen options include trailing rosemary, spreading junipers, and creeping phlox. Phlox subulata produces a carpet of needle-like leaves and cheerful spring blooms. Variegated types add a pop of color. Give phlox full sun and well-drained soil. Once established, these hardy plants require little watering. Their spreading habit helps stabilize erosion-prone banks and slopes.

Flowering Ground Covers Brighten Shady Areas

Full sun promotes lush growth for most ground covers. But areas beneath trees or the eaves of a house present challenging dry shade where grass refuses to thrive. Fortunately, several ground covers actually prefer partial shade. Sweet woodruff produces clusters of tiny white flowers in spring above a whorl of smooth leaves. This European native spreads via underground runners to form a weed-suppressing mat. Its fragrant foliage and flowers are perfect for woodland gardens.

Another shade-loving option is lamium, also called spotted dead nettle. Lamium maculatum sports silver-marked leaves and clusters of purple flowers in late spring. The “White Nancy” cultivar has contrasting silvery white foliage. Both spread aggressively, making them effective as erosion control on shady banks. Regular pruning helps keep their growth contained. Other shade choices include creeping Jenny and perennial candytuft.

Native Ground Covers Provide Natural Beauty

Want to give your landscape a naturalized look? Native ground covers fit seamlessly into gardens designed to mimic regional ecosystems. Low-growing juniper species make excellent evergreen ground covers for Western landscapes. In the Southeast, consider using Allegheny pachysandra or creeping phlox. Carpet bugleweed, with its lush green foliage and blue flower spikes, thrives as far north as Canada.

For Midwestern prairie areas, try aromatic aster, prairie dropseed grass, or creeping potentilla. Wild strawberry produces edible fruit and forms a living mulch that inhibits weeds. Covering slopes with native plants helps prevent erosion while attracting birds, butterflies, and pollinators by providing food and shelter. Their deep roots also help filter runoff and absorb excess water.

Ornamental Grasses Lend Textural Interest

Want to give your landscape a contemporary, natural look? Consider using ornamental grasses as living ground covers. Varieties like blue oat grass and silver carpet grass require little care while providing color and texture. They generally reach heights of 6 to 12 inches. Leave these grasses unmowed so their graceful, swaying foliage can be enjoyed. Plant en masse to create a sea of wispy color.

Smaller grasses suitable as turf substitutes include sedges like Pennsylvania sedge and elymus like blue dune wild rye. They produce soft, fine-bladed foliage and form tufted mounds. Once established they tolerate light foot traffic. Pennsylvania sedge mixes especially well with wildflowers and ferns. For areas with poor, dry soil try inland saltgrass. Delicate pink seed heads emerge above its slender gray-green leaves.

Vining Ground Covers Offer Vertical Accents

Traditional ground covers spread horizontally, but some vines make excellent vertical accents They’re perfect for dressing up walls, fences, stonework, and other structures in the garden. For a delicate look, plant annual morning glory vines at the base of a trellis or obelisk Within weeks they will cover the entire structure in a cloak of colorful trumpets.

Or try annual black-eyed Susan vine for a sunset-colored display and Mexican flame vine for its cascading bright orange blooms. For a permanent vertical accent, plant climbing hydrangea or Clematis armandii. Both adhesive-footed vines produce lush greenery and abundant flowers once established. They can cover an entire wall in a tapestry of green in just a few years.

Tips for Planting Ground Covers

When selecting ground covers, pay attention to their growing requirements and spreading habit to choose plants suited to your site. Aggressive spreaders like ivy may require containment. For large areas, space plants 12 to 18 inches apart. Closer spacing creates faster coverage but requires more plants. Thoroughly prepare soil by mixing in compost to optimize growth and spread.

Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch after planting to conserve moisture and inhibit weeds. Provide regular irrigation until plants become established. Some species like yarrow and sedum are quite drought tolerant once their root systems develop. But all ground covers benefit from occasional watering during dry periods for healthier growth.

Achieve a Flawless Landscape with Versatile Ground Covers

Ground covers offer outstanding versatility, providing year-round interest, color, and texture. Once established, they require little maintenance while keeping weeds at bay. Their lush foliage and colorful blooms can beautifully complement ornamental plantings or substitute for turf grass. Native wildflowers, grasses, and sedums give landscapes a naturalized look that benefits wildlife. Evergreen shrubs like euonymus and dense spreading perennials like ivy excel at erosion control.

With so many choices, you can find beautiful ground covers tailored to nearly any growing conditions. Proper selection and planting will reward you with a gorgeous living carpet that thrives with minimal care. A flawless landscape is within reach with the help of versatile ground covers.